


Actions Are Important; But Sometimes So Are Words

by itsemmalie0821



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Both of them, F/M, but since i cant wait that long, canon can suck it, hulu better do right by them, i wrote this and i did right by them, my children deserve this, over my dead body one of them doesnt say it, they will say i love you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 18:04:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13664376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsemmalie0821/pseuds/itsemmalie0821
Summary: Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes are in love. Everyone can see that. Both of them know, even though Gert hasn't actually said the words yet. But will she get the chance? Will one incident one day take away her chance?





	Actions Are Important; But Sometimes So Are Words

**Author's Note:**

> I don't care about canon. These two deserve to say I love you to each other and hear the other person say it. And that's that on that.... 
> 
> Also it's very late and I only proofread the first half so sorry for any mistakes.

Chase woke up early a lot. It became a little bit of a habit he couldn’t kick. Today was no different. He opened his eyes, seeing the same familiar room around him he had grown used to in the past 6 months of being at the hostel. The walls were a stained grey, although they suspected they used to be white and were now just victims of time and neglect; and being half underground but they tried to forget about that. There wasn’t much sitting around the room. Most of the hostel was covered in just the same furnishings the past owners had left behind after the earthquake had made this place almost unlivable. But the group had bigger problems to deal with than décor, so they didn’t care. 

As Chase became more aware of his surroundings, he noticed a soft touch on this arm. He looked to his left side and saw Gert awake. He felt like she was always awake. It didn’t look like she had noticed he woke up. Her eyes were fixated on the spot on his bicep where she seemed to be tracing little pictures with her finger tips. 

“Hey,” he whispered in a voice that made it obvious he had barely woken up. 

Gert didn’t even look up from her doodles on his arm while she gave a small “hey” back to her boyfriend. 

Boyfriend. 

The though of the word still made Chase feel kind of delirious, like he was dreaming and was feeling the sensation of waking up. If that’s all this was, then he didn’t want to wake up. Because lying here, every morning next to Gert in the bed they called ‘theirs’ made him feel like all of this would pass. Everything with their parents and being wanted for murder and being on the run, hiding out and surviving more than they were living; it would all pass. As long as there were still people like Gert, who were good and kind and smart and righteous, then everything would be alright. 

Chase let a grin creep onto his face, lips curled up just slightly on the sides, his eyes fixed on Gert. She looked up and upon seeing his bright grin directed at her, smiled herself. Rolling his body over, Chase wrapped his arms Gert and pulled her mouth onto his. Kissing her was always like coming home and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t been doing it all his life. Gert pulled away first, running her fingers along Chase’s chin. 

“When are you going to shave this?” she asked, some sarcasm in her voice as she tried but failed to twist her face into disgust. Chase’s chin was covered completely in short little hairs. At first, he would shave them like he always had. But when you’re on the run, you start to learn what items are truly luxuries. Razors weren’t cheap. Chase and Alex had to share one, all the girls had to share one. So as of recently, Chase decided to just let his facial hairs grow out more than usual. Gert liked to pretend she was annoyed by it, but damn that boy had a face that would look good no matter what. 

“Oh what you don’t think my stubble is sexy?” he mocked. 

“No,” Gert smirked. 

“That’s a lie.” 

“How would you know that?” Gert laughed. Despite the act she was trying to put on, Gert pulled Chase closer to her if that was even possible. Her fingers kept moving along his chiseled jaw line. The sensation of the short pokey hairs was oddly pleasing to her. Chase let out a little laugh and the hot air of his breath tickled her chin. 

“Because I’ve known you all my life. Your right eyebrow lifted. You always do that when you lie.” A smug smirk sat on his face, looking at Gert being at a loss for words. He meant it when he said he always saw her. 

Gert didn’t even know what to say to that. Not because he called her out on the lie of wanting him to shave. She really didn’t care if he shaved or not, she just liked teasing him about it. She was blank faced because no one had ever pointed that out to her before. No one even noticed probably. Not even Gert herself knew she did that when she lied. But freaking Chase pointed it out like he was telling her something as obvious as her own eye color. 

“Fine,” she gave in, “maybe it’s not the worst look for you.” 

“You for sure think it’s sexy,” Chase continued to mock. He liked the teasing, too. 

Gert tried to move out of his arms. “Ok I’m leaving!” 

Laughter erupted from the couple as Chase pulled her back into his arms. Gert let him pull her face to his to feel his lips kissing her. His straggly chin hairs tickled her skin as he peppered kisses to her cheeks and neck. In the moment, Gert forgot completely about their current situation. Sometimes, in moments like this with Chase, Gert could close her eyes and pretend they weren’t on the run. She could pretend they were at home and on Monday they would go to school and she would even reluctantly bare a lacrosse game for him. 

Chase pulled away and looked at Gert, propping himself up on his elbow to hover over her as she kept laying on her back. Her eyes were tired, almost pink. “How much sleep did you get last night?” he asked her, his voice suddenly turning more serious. 

“You know how they say a healthy adult should get about 8 hours of sleep a night?” she smiled. Chase just nodded his head. “Yeah let’s just say I didn’t get that.” Her smile faded and she lifted her hands to repeatedly push Chase’s hair back, tangling her fingers in the short strands. 

Chase released a deep sigh, averting his eyes briefly from his girlfriend. He hated feeling so useless, knowing she was suffering in trying to control her anxiety, but not knowing what to do to help her. “You could just take one of your pills,” he suggested, exasperated. They had managed to get her a bottle of anxiety meds. They still wouldn’t tell Gert how they got them, but she was in no position to turn them down. 

“Chase I’m already starting to run low on my pills,” Gert reminded. “I can't just take one because I can't fall asleep.” 

Chase could see the effects of her not sleeping everyday a little more. She was doing so well after they brought the pills back to the hostel for her. But now she had maybe a quarter of a bottle left, and Gert knew she had to ration them out carefully. Not sleeping was hard though. It made her anxiety so much worse in a way. She didn’t have the energy during the day to deal with everything. Her mind was weak from tiredness and wasn’t up to the task of trying to keep the dark and scary thoughts of their current situation towards the back of her mind. 

“But you do have to sleep at some point, babe,” Chase frowned. 

“I know.” She could see the hurt in Chase’s eyes as her own somber voice admitted that she needed sleep. It made her feel a bit bad knowing that he put some pressure on himself to make her feel better. She wished she was able to hide how much she was struggling, even just a little bit, so Chase wouldn’t feel so bad. But at the same time, she was relieved she didn’t have to hide or lie. Chase would still be there for her. “Maybe I’ll take one tonight,” she offered, knowing that one night of sleep would do her good and using one pill wasn’t going to kill her. 

“We’ll figure out a way to get you more pills alright? I promise,” Chase assured her. Gert nodded, bringing her eyes up to meet his. Moments passed as they just stared at each other, finding a slight peace in the brown and hazel colors that stared back at them. A playful smirk broke through the serious expression Chase was wearing during the previous conversation. “You really don’t think this stubble is sexy?” 

“Oh my god!” Gert laughed, letting herself be pulled all the way into Chase’s arms and into his chest as he laid back down. Their laughter died down to just smiles, Chase pressing a strong stubbly kiss on Gert’s cheek. She buried her head completely into the strong chest of her boyfriend, letting him hug her tighter. He always wanted her to feel safe. She did, even if her head played tricks on her to make her truly believe that the walls of the hostel were made of actual toothpicks that would snap if any of them breathed wrong. Gert closed her eyes, hoping the calming sensation Chase brought to her would bring her a little more sleep. 

A few hours passed by, with Gert and Chase eventually leaving the quiet solidarity of their room to take Old Lace outside so she could hunt and run around a little bit. Gert knew she didn’t technically have to go outside while Old Lace hunted because she was her dinosaur and the creature wouldn’t go too far from Gert for too long. But getting out of the hostel and feeling the fresh air always did her some good. Chase went with her most of the time, not wanting her to be alone; unless she asked to be alone, which she did sometimes and Chase respected that. 

Molly made breakfast like she usually did a couple times a week, which was as often as they could manage to splurge on using more than the normal amount of food to make one meal. Alex sat glued to his laptop at their rickety dining room table. On the couch, just out of the view of the kitchen area, sat Nico and Karolina who were close, giggling and communicating in short smiled whispers, little pecked kisses being exchanged now and again. 

“We’re running low on pretty much everything,” Molly informed the group after calling everyone into the kitchen to eat. 

“We should do a grocery run today,” Karolina suggested, reaching across the table to grab a pancake. Everyone nodded in agreement, passing what minimal food they had around the table. 

“I can go,” Nico offered. “I need to get out of this underground jailcell for a little bit.   
You boys want to come with me?” Her eyes moved between Chase and Alex until she saw both of them nod their heads. 

Chase glanced out of the corner of his eye to Gert, who was playing with the eggs on her plate, pushing them around with her fork. He was a bit apprehensive about leaving her since he knew she wasn’t sleeping at all, but Old Lace and Molly would be here. And Karolina, who was always the best at calming Gert down during a panic attack. Chase had no idea how she did it, but Karolina just always knew what to do to calm their purple haired friend down. He was almost ashamed that he had a habit of freezing when Gert was in a severe panic, when her anxiety got so bad she literally couldn’t breathe. So yeah, between Molly, Karolina, and Gert’s own dinosaur, she would be fine without him. They wouldn’t be gone long anyway. 

After breakfast, Nico and the boys gathered the carefully curated list of things they needed, knowing they couldn’t just go back if they forgot anything, and loaded into the van they were able to get their hands on a couple of months ago. It started as normally as it could have started. Any other grocery run went as this one did. Gert went inside to clean the kitchen and wash the dishes, she found that cleaning kept her hands busy and that seemed to keep her mind preoccupied. Molly played with Old Lace in the common room area and Karolina went out back where she kept a small garden. Tending to it was one of the only things that soothed Karolina now, plus she was right when she said that the money they spent on seeds and proper soil was way less than what they would spend on all the fruits and vegetables she was growing if they had to buy them from the store. 

It took an hour to get to the discount grocery store they decided to make their usual spot from the hostel. Nico, Alex, and Chase parked the van and sat in it for a minute, splitting up the list amongst the three of them. They figured it would be best to divide and conquer, split up and meet back up at the van once they got their part of the list. It would make everything quicker. 

It was a normal day. Nothing was different or wrong. Molly was watching one of the few channels the tiny TV that sat in front of the couch got, Karolina was still out in her garden, and Gert was lying in her bed with Old Lace by her side. The three at the store split up like normal to get their separate parts of the lists. 

It was a normal day. Until it wasn’t. 

Nico was standing in the line at the cash register, her head down while she tried not to make eye contact with any of the other shoppers. A touch on her arm sent her head flying up in concern but she spotted Chase standing next to her. She breathed out a sigh of relief but returned to concerned when she saw Chase’s eyes shifting around the room. 

“What is it?” she asked him, her voice low. 

“There’s been a couple people just staring at me,” he informed, his eyes still looking around. Nico thought back over her time at the grocery store today and released some people had been eyeing her, too. “Like that guy,” Chase mumbled. His head nudged in the direction of a tall man. Nico recognized him as one of the people who she came across in almost every aisle, his eyes always meeting her suspiciously. 

Her head shook, stepping forward in the line and starting to place her things on the conveyer belt. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Let’s just get home. Put your stuff with mine, it’ll be quicker,” Nico ordered. Chase could hear the worry in her voice, even though in true Nico fashion she was trying to appear unfazed. 

Chase brought his eyes back up to find the man on his phone, his eyes laser focused on Chase and Nico. 

“Does he know?” Nico asked out of nowhere. She, too, had seen the suspicious man on his phone. It was starting to become clear that he knew who they were, recognized them. 

“He definitely knows,” Chase deadpanned, turning his head away and looking out the window to the parking lot. He saw Alex standing out at the van, leaning his back against it, looking too causal to have noticed the eyes on the kids. Maybe the man in the store hadn’t seen him. But he saw Nico and Chase. He knew who they were. He knew they were murderers. Well, he knew the news had called them murderers and that’s all the information he needed to be calling the police right now. 

“We got to go, Chase,” Nico insisted. Chase pressed his hand against Nico’s back to guide her away from the cash register, abandoning their things. Their legs carried them towards the door, eyes down on the ground. Hastily walking, accidentally bumping into people on their way out, they suddenly heard a shout from behind them. 

“Hey you kids! Stop!” 

They both turned to see the same man from before, his eyes angry, walking quickly towards them. They knew they should have been running but fear kept their steps long and quickened, but still at a walk. Once outside, they pushed their way into the parking lot only to turn and see 2 cop cars pull in. Both Chase and Nico froze in their steps. Their eyes turned to each other and then around them to catch their surroundings. The man behind them aborted his mission of chasing after them and instead pointed his path to the cops pulling in. 

Chase turned to Nico. “Run,” his breathless voice ordered. 

They took off towards the van parked close to the lot exit. Alex seemed to have noticed the cops pulling in and the commotion gathering around the entrance of the store. He looked up to see his friends hurling towards him as fast as their feet would carry them. Their voices were loud and scratched as they shouted at Alex to start the van. He did as he was told, as if the fear in his own body was taking control and auto pilot was turning on. Fight or flight was all they knew lately. The engine of the van revved just as Nico and Chase jumped into the back. Everything seemed to happen at once, the sirens of the police cars starting and the van screeching off overlapping in everyone’s ears. 

“We’ve got to get back to the others!” Chase yelled from the back of the van, his body flying around as Alex drove recklessly through the streets trying to lose the cops that were following them. 

“No! We can't go back to the hostel!” Nico demanded. 

“What are-” 

“It’s too dangerous to go back while we’re being followed!” she yelled. Chase knew she was right, but his mind wondered off the Gert. If he didn’t come back soon, she would worry. And Gert worrying was so much different and worse than any of the others worrying. But he had to keep her safe. He looked at Nico and the way her wide eyes glanced at every part of the road trying to formulate some sort of plan. He knew Karolina and her safety was as much on her mind as Gert and her safety was on Chase’s mind. 

Alex looked up from the road in front of him. “So where do we go?” he shouted. Chase could see his friend’s hands were practically white from their tight grip on the steering wheel. 

“Just keep driving!” Nico cried out, her voice strained. Alex did what he was told with no hesitation, taking back roads and tiny alleyways to try and lose the cops behind them. 

 

…………………………

 

The hostel was almost too calm. Gert had actually managed to fall asleep. It wasn’t a deep sleep, per say, and Gert accredited it mostly to just blind tiredness. She was bound to pass out asleep eventually, it was just a fact of the human body. So she wouldn’t complain because at least it was something. She didn’t know how long she had even been asleep when she was startled awake by hands shaking her body gently. At first, she thought it was probably Chase. But she realized within a split second that Chase wouldn’t wake her up knowing she wasn’t sleeping much lately. Her eyes burst open to see who was disturbing her, her heart suddenly racing. She calmed a bit to see it was just Karolina standing over her beside the bed. 

“Karo what?” she grumbled, trying to be nice, but she was kind of upset that she was woken up out of a sleep she needed terribly. 

“The others aren’t back yet,” Karolina answered, her voice practically trembling. 

Gert propped herself up on her elbow, trying to get her mind to wake up fully and process what Karo was telling her. “What are you talking about?” she asked, grabbing her glasses from the tiny nightstand and adjusting them on her face. 

“It’s been hours Gert! They’re not back yet,” Karolina panicked. At this point Gert sat straight up.

“What time is it?” she asked, her voice starting to match the haste of her friend. 

“It’s past 5.” 

Doing math in her head, Gert realized their friends were 6 hours into a mission that should have lasted 2 ½, maybe 3 tops. Her brain suddenly was working overload to see every possible worst-case scenario. A slideshow of injured friends flashed through her head, getting worse and worse until they were dead, and she never saw them again. Karolina was in front of her, pacing along the floor. The form started blurring in front of Gert, aiding her head in feeling more overwhelmed. 

“Karolina can you please stop! Just please stand still!” she burst out. Karolina turned to face her, a stunned look on her face. “I’m sorry,” Gert said as her face softened, “I’m just… I’m-” 

“No it’s ok. I'm sorry,” Karolina apologized, knowing whatever she was feeling, Gert’s emotions were that but times about a hundred. 

“Don’t apologize. Nico’s out there, too,” Gert reminded. Karo adverted her eyes, looking to the ground. “And you have just as much right to be panicked as I do. Where’s Molly?” 

“She’s asleep on the couch. Should we tell her?” 

“No! She’ll just worry too much,” Gert panted. Her breathing felt heavy and the room gained about 20 more degrees. She suddenly regretted putting on Chase’s heavy sweatshirt. “What do we do?” 

Karolina’s form moved across the room to sit with Gert on the bed. Her head shook, sadly knowing there wasn’t much they could do. Nico constantly suggested getting burner phones. Alex insisted not even that was safe enough, not until he could set up a hacked phone signal that wouldn’t be detected, one that couldn’t even be detected as a burner phone. Gert didn’t even know if that was possible, but as long as Alex said it wasn’t safe, they didn’t do it. But right now both girls were really wishing they had ignored Alex and just gotten the dumb phones so they could call their friends.

Soon Karolina got up from the bed and went to her own room, saying she wanted to be alone to think for a while, hopefully come up with a plan to find out where the others were. Gert wanted the opposite, she wanted Karolina there with her to hold her hand. But she didn’t want to force her to stay if she felt she needed to be alone. 

She didn’t want to think about something really being wrong, about never seeing Chase again. But her brain wouldn’t turn off. Thinking about even trying to get through all of this without Chase’s calming touch and his voice constantly reminding her how strong she is. All too often did she forget she was so strong, but Chase was never shy about reminding her. She couldn’t wrap her head around never again hearing him say he loved her. He said it a lot, but Gert could never quite get the words out to say it back. Chase never minded. But maybe that only made her love him more. That was the thing, she knew she loved him. Probably longer than she even knew she had, but she knew. Every time she woke up next to him or when he kissed her like he would go crazy if he didn’t kiss her in that one moment, she knew for a damn fact she loved him. 

Something about saying the words terrified her, though. Putting the whole sentiment out into the universe knowing it could never be taken back. Not that she would want to take them back, but her anxiety did things. It made her fear the possibility of Chase one day leaving her. And should that ever come for real, she wanted to be able to at least lie to herself by pretending he wasn’t as important to her as he really is. That seemed like it would be easier if the words “I love you” lived only in her head, and didn’t escape her lips. 

But chase said the words. And he said them in a way that told Gert he truly meant it. He looked at her in a way that told Gert he truly meant it. Gert tried to do the same. She was sure on many occasions her starry-eyed looks didn’t go unnoticed by her boyfriend. She listened to him when he had nightmares about his dad, which happened more than either of them would like to admit. Her hand would hold his tight when he felt he didn’t deserve anything good, her words would sooth him when he got angry. If she couldn’t say that she loved him, she would at least show him every single chance she got. He did it for her and she wanted to do it back. Chase deserved good things; he deserved to be told he was smart and important and capable of being loved because he was a good guy with a good heart. 

Gert loved him. 

And she never told him to his face because her mind was constantly coming up with terrifying situations for what seemed like just the pure fun of terrorizing her. Now more than ever, she wished she had just pushed past the fear and told him she loved him. Right now, she wasn’t sure if she would ever get that chance. 

Old Lace wondered into the room, probably sensing her distraught state. She kneeled at Gert’s feet, placing her head just over the purple haired girl’s lap. A small whimper came out of her and Gert lifted her hand to stroke the dinosaur’s head. Her eyes caught sight of the small pill bottle on the nightstand. Now seemed like as good a time as any to take or maybe even two. Whatever would shut her mind up. 

She pills were running down her throat just as the door to her room creaked open a little more. She looked up to see a watery-eyed Karolina stepping into the room. “Being alone didn’t help at all,” she smiled weakly. She reclaimed her spot of the bed next to Gert, giving a couple light strokes to Old Lace’s head as it remained in her owner’s lap. 

“How often do you tell Nico you love her?” Gert asked, not moving her eyes from Chase’s flannel as it laid over a chair in the corner of the room. 

“I don’t know,” Karolina admitted. Her eyes lightened, thinking about her own girlfriend. “I say it a lot more than she does. But I just like saying it.” A smile sat on her lips, but it disappeared when she looked over to see Gert seeming to drown in a sorrow. “Chase knows you love him.” 

“I never even got to tell him,” Gert’s whispered voice spoke. 

Karolina scoffed at the idea that Chase didn’t know just because the words weren’t said. “Chase could tell! We can all tell, Gert,” she laughed. “And don’t talk like you’re never going to get the chance.” 

“What if they don’t come back?” Gert hated being the downer, but the thoughts of lost friends climbing on top of each other in her head. They filled up every inch of free space she had up there until she couldn’t even believe anything else. 

“They will!” Karolina spoke, as if she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince Gert. “If they’re not back by morning, we’ll go look for them. I don’t know… maybe Old Lace will be able to sniff out a scent.” 

It wasn’t much of a plan, especially since both girls knew Old Lace could only get them so far until she would get spotted in public. They don’t even have the van and they couldn’t just go walking all over Los Angeles. Neither spoke of the blind faith Karolina seemed to have or the barely pieced together plan they had for if their friends weren’t back by morning. That was a long time to wait, considering it was only barely 5:30. The sun was barely going down and Gert knew she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep tonight while not knowing where Chase, Nico, and Alex were. Karolina and Gert crawled back into the bed, allowing Old Lace to squeeze down at the foot of the mattress. Their hands gripped at the each other’s tight, not speaking, but knowing they were both in the same fear and worry. 

…………………….

 

The van was parked in some sketchy alleyway not far from the grocery store. After a couple hours of driving around the city, Alex said it would be best to park the van and wait it out. Nico and Chase, although anxious as ever to get back to the hostel and their girlfriends, agreed. They couldn’t be walking around, and van was unmarked, seemingly normal to be parked in an alley. At least they hoped it would be inconspicuous enough to not be suspicious. It was night now and they had been sitting in the van for hours, trying to be quiet, listening for sirens or signs that they were still being looked for. 

“Do you think the coast is clear?” Nico asked from the front passenger seat. 

“I haven’t heard anything. And we lost the police hours ago,” Chase said hopeful that they could get back home now. 

Alex shook his head, unsure of leaving the van. “No I think we should wait it out here.” 

“Alex we can't just sit here like sitting ducks! They could start searching the area or send more cars out. The longer we stay the more danger we are in,” Chase argued. 

“I do not think it’s a good idea to be driving around right now! They could still be looking for us,” Alex retorted. 

“Exactly why we should try to get back to hostel! I would rather be out there than sitting here like a target!” 

The boys were going at each other, the stress causing them more hostility towards each other than ever before. Chase doesn’t know how their relationship got this strained. Sure, they were never best friends even before Amy’s death. But they weren’t ever at each other’s necks like they were after the whole group reconnected. They seemed to fight each other at every turn. 

“I agree with Chase,” Nico butted in. Alex looked between the two others, knowing he was outvoted. 

“Fine! But we should leave the van,” he tried to compromise. He spotted Chase’s face drop as the statement about leaving their only form of convenient transportation here in some alley. “They could’ve gotten the plates for it or anything! It’s safer if we leave it here.” 

“It took us months to get this van. Who knows when we’ll be able to get another one. We can't just go around stealing a bunch of cars!” Chase tried to convince. Him and Alex went back and forth arguing about leaving the van. Neither seemed to notice Nico run her hands over her face, frustrated with the yelling while nothing was getting done. 

“Enough!” she yelled. Both boys looked up with wide eyes at her outburst. “Stop fighting you idiots! We are going back to the hostel now and we are leaving the stupid van here. End of story. Now shut up and start walking. If you start arguing at all during this walk back, I swear I will call the cops on both of you.” 

There was no hesitation between the end of Nico’s orders and when the boys got out of the van. Silence was heavy as they started their long walk back to the hostel. The cover of night helped them out but they knew they still had to be careful, stay hidden. 

 

……………………..

 

All three girls were in the living room of the hostel as the clock moved past 8:30. Molly, not being dumb, noticed that their friends weren’t back after she woke up from her nap. Gert was fighting the urge to go out and look for Chase herself. She didn’t suggest it out loud, knowing Molly would absolutely want to go out and look to. Gert was in no mental state to convince her to stop. 

“We can't just sit here!” Molly commented. She knew neither Karolina or Gert were as calm or nonchalant as they appeared. It was an elaborate act of desperation to at least act like everything was fine. That act was the only thing keeping them from losing their minds. But Molly was still frustrated. She couldn’t help it. 

“We don’t have anything we can do, Molls,” Karolina said, trying to remain calm. 

Gert remained silent as the two girls beside her went back and forth. Her thoughts were so loud, almost drowning out the girls next to her altogether. She tugged at the sleeves of her sweatshirt, wishing it still smelled like Chase. But they had just done laundry the day before and she had claimed her boyfriend’s sweatshirt before he did. 

The room and the conversation inside of it came to a halt as the creaky door that led inside the mansion from the outside sounded through the building. All the girls got up from the couch and stood in front of the hallway opening to see whoever had opened the door as soon they turned the corner. Gert was anxious but Old Lace laid peacefully on the floor, unaffected by the sound of the door. That could only mean she recognized the scent of whoever entered. As soon as Gert was done processing that information, all three of their missing friends turned the corner to come into view. Karolina ran straight to Nico and pulled her into a kiss. Gert seemed frozen in the moment, like her brain was taking a second to clear out all the thoughts and images that before made her fear that the three of them were never coming back. A wave of relief bigger than Gert had ever felt washed over her as soon as her eyes made direct contact with Chase’. That wave sent her almost running straight into Chase’s arms, wrapping her own tightly around his neck, locking them so securely it seemed as though she didn’t plan on ever letting go. 

Chase’s arms locked around her torso, his mind stuck on the thought that he got too close to never being able to hold her again. The thought scared him to the bone and he pulled her in tighter. Both of them heard Molly in the background asking where the hell they were, but neither Chase nor Gert were coming out of this moment any time soon. 

“Someone at the store recognized us,” Alex answered, seeing that both the couples were a little busy. 

Gert pulled away from Chase after hearing the answer Alex provided. Her form remained leaned into his chest, letting both of his arms drape over her shoulders to hold her close. “What do you mean you were recognized?” she asked, jumping back and forth between relieved and concerned. 

“Some guy called the cops,” Nico clarified, briefly coming out of her own moment with Karolina. 

“We had to lay low and hide out for a bit,” Alex finished off. 

Gert’s body tensed up and she could feel Chase tightening her hold to calm her. She sank completely into his touch and let her head fall on his shoulder. Karolina knew exactly what Gert was feeling. She turned to Nico to run a hand through her black hair. Her eyes scanned her body for injuries, even though it was clear there were none. 

“Well are you ok?” she asked. Nico looked up into her eyes and nodded. 

“Yes I swear we’re fine,” Nico answered. Without any words to the others, Karolina grabbed Nico’s hand and gripped it tight, pulling her off in the direction of their room. 

An exhausted looking Alex slowly back away towards his own room. He only turned for a moment to look at the small group left in the hallway. “We’re going to need a new van by the way,” he said lazily. He disappeared down the hallway without another word or look. Molly looked over at her sister to see her move away from Chase, leaving him open for a quick hug. 

“I’m glad you’re ok,” she mumbled as she embraced the boy who always felt like a big brother to her. After a quick thanks from Chase, Molly walked off to her room. 

Gert was trying to get her breathing right, just now realizing it was a bit fast. She pushed her hair out of her face and combed her fingers through it. A deep sigh released from her, trying to come to terms with everything. 

“Babe, you ok?” Chase asked. 

She looked up, a weak smile plastered on her face. She would be ok. Right now she just felt kind of numb. Today was the most stressful day she had had since going on the run. Just imagining for a moment trying to get through today without having any anxiety pills, that thought alone was enough to make her lose her mind. Through all of this, they have always been able to count of having each other. The situation itself might suck and be scary, but at least they weren’t alone. They had each other. And today came too close to have that be destroyed. Sure it was mostly the thought of losing Chase that petrified her to no end, but in reality it was all of them. This was her family and she couldn’t lose any of them. 

Nodding, Gert kept her smile focused on Chase. “Yeah I’m ok,” she told him. Her hands were still shaking a little so she crossed her arms and stuck her hands into her elbows to ease them and hold them still. 

“What? Were you worried about me?” Chase teased, smirking at Gert. Chase didn’t quite believe her when she said she was ok. The teasing was only an attempt to ease the tension he was sure her anxiety was giving her right now. If she wasn’t ok, he wanted her to tell him. How could he help her if she didn’t tell him what was wrong? 

Gert remained quiet. Her only sign of life was the small grin that pulled at the corners of her mouth. Chase was right here in front of her. He was real, no mirage or vivid dream. He was ok. They were all ok. She took in every inch of his presence. His eyes and his dumb dimpled smile. The little freckles on his nose. All of it. Without warning, she turned and leaned up to pull his lips to hers. Chase wasn’t complaining and it didn’t take him more than a millisecond to sink into it and kiss back. The warmth of her hands cupping his cheeks was all he needed to be soothed down himself from the all-too-close call they had today. He didn’t know he was so riled by until Gert’s lips were pressed against his and he felt his body release a breath he had no idea he was holding. Gert pulled back, leaning her forehead against Chase’s. She could feel the grip both of his hands had on the back of her sweatshirt, keeping her close. With a deep breath, she pushed away all of her fear. 

“I love you,” she whispered. 

Chase stared in disbelief for a moment because he had never heard her tell him that before. He knew of course. At least he hoped more than anything. But this was the first time those words left her mouth directed at him. He never could have imagined it would feel this good to hear her say it. 

“You don’t have to tell me that,” he reminded her. He would say it to her a million times without once pressuring her to say it back. He didn’t want her to say it if she didn’t mean it fully. His dad did that. He would tell Chase and his mom he loved them, but the look in his eyes as he said it, his tone of voice, they all gave away that he didn’t mean it. He didn’t want that for or from Gert. 

“I want to tell you,” Gert smiled, letting Chase begin to tangle his hands in her hair. “I know I love you. I’ve known it for a while. And it’s just hard to say because that makes you vulnerable and vulnerability and anxiety don’t go together very well. But today I thought I might never get the chance to say it to you. And whether or not you know that I love you, I want you to hear the words. Because I really like hearing you say the words,” she smiled. Her voice was beginning to get a little choked, but she fought back a rogue tear that was threatening to spill out. “I want you know without any kind of doubt how I feel about you. I love you.” 

No words. Chase could think of no words to say to the love of life as she told him exactly how she felt. He was so proud above all else because he knew how hard it must have been for her to get all of that out, to push past everything in her head that told her not to say it. His lips touched down on her forehead, lingering there for a moment. Gert’s little arms wrapped around Chase as he pulled her in hold her. 

“I love you, too,” Chase whispered into her hair. He felt her smile as she gripped at his arms, actually feeling at peace for a moment in time. Saying those words to Chase made everything between them feel so real. But not in a scary way like she thought it would be, in an exciting way. It was in a way that made her feel alive and free, even if they hiding out from the law in some abandoned mansion. She could get real used to say the words if it kept feeling as good as this.

**Author's Note:**

> Good or trash? You tell me lol 
> 
> Please leave a review! I love them! Even if it's just a few words (I loooooooove and live for the long rambling one though). And look me up on tumbr behappyitsemmalie
> 
> Thanks for reading babes! See you in the next story:)


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